Leaders of the hydropower industry sent a letter to U.S. House leadership today calling for passage of provisions included in the energy bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee that would bring the hydropower licensing process into the 21st century.

In the letter, the National Hydropower Association (NHA), American Public Power Association, Edison Electric Institute, Large Public Power Council, and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association herald the bipartisan hydropower provisions in the bill as “much needed, but modest steps designed to make this clean energy source a more attractive choice,” and call for the end of the “inaccurate rhetoric surrounding the hydropower provisions” recently instigated by opponents of hydropower and the many public benefits it provides.